Battle of Nijmegen

The Battle of Nijmegen (17-20 Septembre 1944) was a battle of World War II that was fought between the Allied British XXX Corps and the US 82nd Airborne Division and two German Waffen-SS panzer divisions in the Dutch town of Nijmegen. The Allied forces had intended to secure the Waal bridge at Nijmegen and the city's railroad bridge in order to secure a quick link to the embattled town of Arnhem, where John Frost's British force was struggling against overwhelming German forces. 10th SS Panzer Division Frundsberg commander Heinz Harmel suggested the idea of blowing up the Waal bridge to Field Marshal Walther Model, as the Allies seemed to be aiming to take it; Model rejected this suggestion as "out of the question", as he sought to launch a counterattack over the bridges after the failure of Operation Market Garden. The Germans nevertheless rigged the bridges to blow, and Harmel had a demolition man on standby.

The 82nd Airborne Division, commanded by American general James M. Gavin, planned to assault the city in conjunction with Brian Horrocks' XXX Corps, and the Americans had the British bring them boats with which they could cross the Waal River and flank the Germans to attack the bridge from two sides. Major Julian Cook was given command of the amphibious force, and the Americans began to cross the river shortly after Joe Vandeleur's British armor fired smoke grenades to mask their approach. However, the smoke cleared before they had made it to the other side, and the American soldiers came under heavy fire from German machine guns and artillery. The Americans suffered heavy losses crossing the river, but they managed to overrun the German defenses and secure the bridge. British armor proceeded to cross the bridge, and Harmel attempted to disobey Model's orders by detonating the explosives, only to discover that the bombs did not work. The town was therefore subjected to armored assault, and the city suffered huge material damage and heavy civilian casualties. The Allied march to Arnhem was halted, however, by General Horrocks, who wanted to secure the town before advancing on to relieve Frost. The British armored troops therefore drank tea as they waited for the infantry to secure Nijmegen, ignoring Gavin's pleas for them to move on to Arnhem. Nijmegen was successfully captured by the Allies, but the Allies came too late to relieve Arnhem, which was forced to surrender to the Germans.